Support for bottle stoppers



Sept 18, 1934., T. A. JOHNSON SUPPORT FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS Filed Aug. 12, 1931 fm/en 72 fl/fhw Johnson 7710mm M y Patented Sept. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES 2 Claims.

My invention relates to a combined protector and support for bottle stoppers constituting an improvement upon the stopper support disclosed in my Patent No. 1,352,967. 7

I The object of the invention is to provide a bottle stopper support of new and improved construction particularly adapted for use on stoppers of the type commonly used in ink bottles, in which a knob or handle by which the stopper is withdrawn from the bottle is secured to the outer end of the stopper proper.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which -Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved stopper support applied to stopper shown in clotted outline.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modified form of the support.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of still another modification.

In the exemplary forms thus illustrated, the stopper to which the present invention is particularly applicable, comprises a tapering cork body 4 adapted to be received in the neck of the bottle and a handle or knob in the form of a substantially fiat disc 5, secured to the larger end of the body t and having a diameter greater than said end so that the peripheral edge of the handle constitutes a flange projecting outwardly from the cork 4 and overlying the end of the bottle neck when the stopper is inserted.

The improved support comprises generally an eye adapted to receive the cork 4 and joined to a base which projects beyond the smaller end of the cork and has an opening therein co-axial with the eye and adapted to pass over the neck of the bottle in the act of inserting the stopper with the support attached thereto. Preferably the parts of the support are formed from a single piece of wire, one end or which is bent into a circular loop 6 to form the base of the support while the other end is bent into a circular loop 7. The two loops are joined by the intermediate portion of the wire which forms a shank 8 preferably extending parallel to the axis of the loops.

The loop 6 is made substantially larger than the cork 4 and when the support is secured to the stopper as shown in Figure 1, the loop 6 supports the end of the cork out of contact with the surface on which the stopper is placed either in horizontal position as shown in Figure 1 or in vertical position. In this way, the end of the stopper is protected, avoiding contamination of the contents of the bottle when the stopper is replaced and preventing the supporting surface from becoming discolored by coming in contact with the contents of the bottle carried on the surface of the cork 4. The free end of the wire forming the loop 6 pref erably is curled around the shank 8 as indicated at 9 (Figure 1) or as shown in Fig. 2, this end may simply be lapped over the bend in the wire at the junction of the loop 6 and the shank 8.

- In both of the forms illustrated, the loop 7 is so constructed that it will lie flat against the under side of the disc 5 and is also constructed to possess some degree of expansibility so as to insure a snug fit and to compensate for irregularities in the size of the opening defined by the loop and in the diameter of the cork 4. These results are obtained, in the form shown in Figure 1, by forming a V-shaped projection 10 defining an inwardly diverging notch communicating with the opening defined by the loop 7 and thereby interrupting the continuity of this loop and enabling the loop to be expanded in order to accommodate an oversized stopper.

One side of the projection 10 is formed by a portion 11 of the wire which is integral with the end of the shank 8 and at the other end with the loop 7. The end portion 12 of the wire defines the other side of the notch and its end 13 is wound around the bend at the junction of the portion 11 and the shank 8 so as to tightly close the loop which is made slightly smaller in diameter than the upper end of the cork l. Thus, the cork is contracted slightly or the eye delined by the loop 7, expanded in forcing the cork therethrough with the result that the two parts are fastened together securely and the proper relation of the guard loop 6 to the small end of the cork thereby maintained.

Since the curl 13 is formed on the projection 10 at a point outwardly from the edge of the disc 5, all portions of the loop which contact the under side of the disc are of uniform thickness and lie flat against the disc thereby occupying a minimum length of the stopper 4. Thus the support, when applied to stoppers of standard construction, does not reduce to an objectionable extent the length of the cork available for entry into the neck of the bottle. For this reason the application of the present support to the stoppers commonly used in ink bottles, does not involve increasing the length of the cork body 4.-. Inasmuch as the free end of the wire portion forming the loop 7 is securely fastened to the shank shank 8 and a lateral extension 14 thereof.

8, the possibility of this loop becoming disfigured in handling or interlocked with the loops of other supports in packing, is effectually eliminated.

The desired flatness and expansibility of the eye 7 may also be obtained by the construction shown in Fig. 2 wherein the portion of the wire forming the loop 7 is left free at its end which terminates adjacent the junction between the The loop '7 thus formed is free to expand by movement of the free end relative to the projection 14.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, advantage is taken of the inherent resiliency of the cork, of which ink bottle stoppers are commonly composed, in securely fastening the support to the stopper. The support in this embodiment, is in the form of a cup of sheet metal, bakelite, or other suitable material having a slightly tapered side wall 15 which forms a rigid connection between a loop in the form of a flange 16 and an enlarged loop 17 at the large end of the cup. The latter end is large enough to pass over the neck of the bottle in which the stopper is received.

The edge or" the flange 16 is made relatively sharp and somewhat smaller than the cork portion 18 of the stopper so that the latter will be contracted slightly when forced through the opening defined by the flange 16 and as the flanged head 19 of the stopper comes in contact with the flange 16. Owing to the radial width of the flange 16 and its uniform thickness, the effective length of the cork portion of the stopper is not materially reduced. The wall 15 may be made solid or perforated in various designs as may be desired.

It will be apparent that I have provided a bottle stopper support which is simple and inexpensive in construction and readily adaptable to standard stoppers of the type used in ink bottles without necessitating reconstruction of the stopper in order to retain the required effective length of the cork body.

I claim as my invention:

1. A support for a bottle stopper having a tapered body and a flange at the large end thereof, said support comprising, a circular loop of wire, a substantially straight shank extending parallel to the axis of said loop from a point on the circumference thereof, a lateral projection from the end of said shank opposite said loop, .a circular loop smaller than said first loop formed at the end of said projection adapted to receive said body and lie flat against said flange, and a second projection integral with and closing said second loop and co-operating with said first mentioned projection to form a V-shaped notch diverging in- Wardly and communicating with said loop to permit expansion of the latter, the converging ends of said projections being secured together at a point outwardly from the periphery of said flange.

2. A support for a bottle stopper having a tapered body and a flange at the large end thereof, said support comprising, a circular loop of wire,

a substantially straight shank extending parallel .ond loop, and having its ends bent around the intermediate portion of the wire beyond the periphery of said flange and adjacent the junction between said shank and said first mentioned projection, said projection defining an interruption in the circumference of said second loop permitting expansion of the latter as said body is forced therethrough.

THOMAS ARTHUR JOHNSON. 

